Skopje, 14 January 2025 (MIA) - Workers from several ministries, the State Statistical Office, the State Archive, and the Bureau of Metrology held a warning protest Tuesday demanding the signing of collective agreements and a pay rise of 30 percent.

Employees from the ministries of environment and physical planning; digital transformation; agriculture, forestry and water economy; justice; culture and tourism; economy and labor; and transport, participated in the protest.

According to Trade Union of Administration, Judiciary and Citizens' Associations (UPOZ) leader Trpe Deanoski, protests will continue and take place every day from 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., with a protest set to be held in front of the Ministry of Finance on Friday from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.

“We are starting today since a session of Government is being held, and we urge that the item is placed on the session’s agenda so that a way is found to secure funds from the budget for the solution of this longstanding issue. Since the election of the new Government, we have held meetings with almost all relevant ministers and through negotiations, we jointly drafted collective agreements which were then sent to the Ministry of Finance. The collective agreements were forwarded to the Ministry before the adoption of the 2025 Budget, but due to unclear reasons, the Ministry of Finance did not approve funds for their signing,” Deanoski said at the protest.

Deanoski stressed that the wages of employees at the institutions that are protesting start at Mden 25.010 (EUR 406).

“The average wage in these institutions is around Mden 29.000 (EUR 471), while the average wage in the country is Mden 42.124 (EUR 684). The supplemental pay of 30 percent that we are asking for would mean that the employees would receive an increase of Mden 6.000 (EUR 97), with which they’d still be below the national average. This request has existed for more than four years. We have protested and held strikes over the supplemental pay for years back, but, unfortunately, not a single government has accepted our demands so far,” Deanoski said. 

Deanoski stressed that there is no constitutional nor legal obstacle for the signing of the collective agreements, noting that their intention isn’t to harm the state Budget, but to “find a solution for the signing of collective agreements within the frameworks of the Budget” through dialogue with the Government.

Photo/Video: MIA/UPOZ